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when i joined the cia in august 1980, world events were unsettled. our embassy in teheran had been overrun the year before and 52 americans were still being held hostage by a radical new government in iran. the soviet invasion of afghanistan was less than a year old and the next decade we witnessed the slow but steady crumbling of the soviet union. weapons of mass destruction were a concern and u.s. officials were hard at work around the globe trying to prevent regional tensions and an mos if is from turning in to full-scale wars and ominously, the united states about to face an upsurge in terrorist attacks to claim hundreds of american lives in lebanon including a 49-year-old cia officer named bob ames killed in a brief visit to our embassy in beirut and who at the time was my boss at cia. during my 25-year career at cia, i watched up close and participated in history being made in far off corners of the world. as cia fulfilled the critical intelligence roles, collecting intelligence, uncovering secrets, identifying threats, partnering with foreign
when i joined the cia in august 1980, world events were unsettled. our embassy in teheran had been overrun the year before and 52 americans were still being held hostage by a radical new government in iran. the soviet invasion of afghanistan was less than a year old and the next decade we witnessed the slow but steady crumbling of the soviet union. weapons of mass destruction were a concern and u.s. officials were hard at work around the globe trying to prevent regional tensions and an mos if...
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drone policy and president obama's mick to head the cia readies to testify this afternoon on capitol hill, calls for greater transparency and legal justification for the killings have increased. the outcry reached a crescendo on monday when nbc's michael isikoff obtained a leaked white pair from the government suggesting that the u.s. government can kill american set zenz overseas without any specific intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the u.s. the expansive legal framework set off alarm bells. >> every american has the right to know when their government believes it's allowed to kill them. i don't think that as one person said, that is too much to ask. >> the "new york times" wrote "it was disturbing to see the twisted logic of the administration's lawyers laid out in black and white. it brought back unwelcome memories of memos written for president george w. bush to justify illegal wiretapping, indefinite detention, kidnapping, abuse, and torture. "time's" writer david carr put it more success iktly. drones, very effective at targeting and wiping o
drone policy and president obama's mick to head the cia readies to testify this afternoon on capitol hill, calls for greater transparency and legal justification for the killings have increased. the outcry reached a crescendo on monday when nbc's michael isikoff obtained a leaked white pair from the government suggesting that the u.s. government can kill american set zenz overseas without any specific intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the u.s. the expansive...
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john brennan faces his confirmation hearing to be the head of the cia on thursday this week. he will face questions from senators on the senate intelligence committee who will presumably ask him about his time in the cia of yore under george w. bush and his time as the face of the drone program under president barack obama. one of the senators who sits on the intelligence committee is going to get a chance to question john brennan is oregon democrat john wyden, who is a bit of a contrarian on the issues. he recently wrote a letter to john brennan asking for answers of his own about targeted killing and why it's justified and how it's justified. the questions themselves are so basic that they are almost more telling than some of the answers they could but probably won't receive. questions like, for example, how much evidence does the president need to determine that a particular american can be lawfully killed? also, this is one that sticks with me, does the president have to provide individual americans with the opportunity to surrender before killing them? sand are there any
john brennan faces his confirmation hearing to be the head of the cia on thursday this week. he will face questions from senators on the senate intelligence committee who will presumably ask him about his time in the cia of yore under george w. bush and his time as the face of the drone program under president barack obama. one of the senators who sits on the intelligence committee is going to get a chance to question john brennan is oregon democrat john wyden, who is a bit of a contrarian on...
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leon panetta when he was head of the cia was clear that it is torture and the u.s. does not engage in torture. while there is a continuation of policies related to drones and targeted assassinations, i don't think that there is necessarily a continuation of or ttorture. >> well, the debate we are not having is what are the contours of this, and if we want to win hearts and minds to go back to a vietnam plauz, what are thrase, the contours of this? will it expand and come back to hit us in a strong way? >> as someone who knows the pro and con intell and we send people into the area to make people suspicious of each other, and killed people in a domestic sphere, aed on the know the ugliness and the nastiness of that and the ways in which have sat over and against any american notice that we are not the kind of country that does that, but to get on the other side of co-intel to say i need that to be reflected in the 21st history. >> and to that, brennan was the architect of the waterboarding program or in the testimony he said he was aware of at least 50 memos that it
leon panetta when he was head of the cia was clear that it is torture and the u.s. does not engage in torture. while there is a continuation of policies related to drones and targeted assassinations, i don't think that there is necessarily a continuation of or ttorture. >> well, the debate we are not having is what are the contours of this, and if we want to win hearts and minds to go back to a vietnam plauz, what are thrase, the contours of this? will it expand and come back to hit us in...
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Feb 6, 2013
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john brennan was once the deputy cia director. he is now president obama's counterterrorism director at the white house. but if he is to run the cia for president obama, john brennan is first going to have to face questions on thursday about some of what michael isikoff turned up here on this program last night. a justice department white paper elaborating the administration's reasoning for why it thinks it is legal to kill american citizens on the president's say so. or actually, on the say so of an informed high level official of the u.s. government. so maybe that's the president, but maybe that's somebody else. michael isikoff's scoop ended up at "the new york times" today and "the washington post" and "the hill" and slate and salon and ap to name a few. it was everywhere. and then at a press conference today, the attorney general was asked about it. >> last night nbc reported a white paper that was prepared by the justice department undated, unsigned about the legal -- the legal pinnacles for targeting americans overseas. coul
john brennan was once the deputy cia director. he is now president obama's counterterrorism director at the white house. but if he is to run the cia for president obama, john brennan is first going to have to face questions on thursday about some of what michael isikoff turned up here on this program last night. a justice department white paper elaborating the administration's reasoning for why it thinks it is legal to kill american citizens on the president's say so. or actually, on the say so...
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he is a veteran of the cia. a lot of people argue from inside the intelligence community that he is the perfect head of the cia because he is well respected and has, you know, a life-long career there. he is very close to the president. and you can really see the body language when the president was nominating him, just how close they are. this is a friendship. this is not just a working relationship. so it will certainly enhance the cia's clout inside the white house to have him as the head of it. there is a very highly regarded acting director, mike morel, who could have been nominate in order post as well, and is staying at the agency. so the agency is in very familiar hands right now while we go through this process. but this hearing, remember, is in front of the intelligence committee. ron wyden is something of an outlier in that the intelligence committees are pretty much very much in sync with what the administration warrants on the war on terror. this is the first real rebellion. >> fascinating stuff. i
he is a veteran of the cia. a lot of people argue from inside the intelligence community that he is the perfect head of the cia because he is well respected and has, you know, a life-long career there. he is very close to the president. and you can really see the body language when the president was nominating him, just how close they are. this is a friendship. this is not just a working relationship. so it will certainly enhance the cia's clout inside the white house to have him as the head of...
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the plan had received support from the pentagon, the cia, secretary clinton. but ultimately it was the white house that turned down the idea. >> both of you agreed with petraeus and clinton that we should start looking at military assistance in syria, is that correct? >> that was our position. i do want to say, senator, that obviously there were a number of factors that were reversed here that ultimately led to the president's decision to make it nonlethal. i supported his decision in the end. but the answer to your question is yes. >> for both of you? >> yes. >> "the wall street journal" says the white house was concerned about which rebels could be trusted with arms. was also worried about the risk of drawing the united states into another military conflict. but it was questions over benghazi that led to the most heated moments with secretary panetta and general dempsey defending the administration's response to the deadly raid on the u.s. consulate. >> for you to testify that our posture would not allow a rapid response, our posture was not there because we
the plan had received support from the pentagon, the cia, secretary clinton. but ultimately it was the white house that turned down the idea. >> both of you agreed with petraeus and clinton that we should start looking at military assistance in syria, is that correct? >> that was our position. i do want to say, senator, that obviously there were a number of factors that were reversed here that ultimately led to the president's decision to make it nonlethal. i supported his decision...
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voice, the primary voice of restraint and has advocated for moving the drone strike policy from the cia more to the military and if it was under the us a passes of the military it would require greater transparency. of course, he's going to be there toeing the president's line, the administration's line. it will be interesting to see if there's hints of the desire to move it more to the military from the cia. >> we are in a post geographical war with people that don't wear uniforms. if we don't attack them in the -- >> no one doesn't want to attack them. >> where are the limits? it has to be somebody part of al qaeda, something part of the war on terror as it's defined. there are no -- that's the problem is there are limitations. could be anybody anywhere according to this memo. >> no leg to stand on when this technology turned and used on us or allies. we will have no leg to stand on legal or otherwise. >> that's not true. that's not true at all. al qaeda attacked this nation. we are attacking al qaeda back. there's no -- >> a 16-year-old was not in al qaeda. >> hold on. but the differ
voice, the primary voice of restraint and has advocated for moving the drone strike policy from the cia more to the military and if it was under the us a passes of the military it would require greater transparency. of course, he's going to be there toeing the president's line, the administration's line. it will be interesting to see if there's hints of the desire to move it more to the military from the cia. >> we are in a post geographical war with people that don't wear uniforms. if we...
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is it the army, the cia, is it the attorney general? >> a lot of recent reporting has shown it's actually barack obama himself -- >> through the nsc. >> he is the informed high-level official -- >> does he have to give an official finding? does he have to have a finding? does he have to -- >> there's a finding that supports the policy, but i don't know that he needs -- >> does he have fingerprints when he makes one of these decisions like -- >> not public ones. in fact, they won't discuss the public -- deliberations at all. listen, until last year they wouldn't acknowledge the drone policy existed. >> can you tell from your reporting if there's any conflict of conscience within the administration or they agree we need to do this in the war we're in now? >> look at panetta's comments to chuck todd the other day on "meet the press" in which he said making these decisions about who should die and who should not, who should get targeted, were really tough ones and he agonized about that. that ought to give you a clue these are not all open
is it the army, the cia, is it the attorney general? >> a lot of recent reporting has shown it's actually barack obama himself -- >> through the nsc. >> he is the informed high-level official -- >> does he have to give an official finding? does he have to have a finding? does he have to -- >> there's a finding that supports the policy, but i don't know that he needs -- >> does he have fingerprints when he makes one of these decisions like -- >> not...
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the confirmation hearings of cia director nominee john brennan got off to a rocky start today. human rights protesters from the activist group code pink interrupted the hearings before they even started. john brennan is the architect of the obama administration's drone warfare program, which includes targeted killings. once the hearing got under way, there was another disruption. the protester was escorted out. then there was another. same thing. seconds later there was another. and then another. finally, chairwoman senator dianne feinstein broke up the proceedings. >> we're going to halt the hearing. i'm going to ask that the room be cleared and that the code pink associates not be permitted to come back in. we've done this five times now and five times are enough. >> the chaos underscored the controversy of the administration's policy. many americans want to know how the united states can order the killings of american citizens without due process. earlier today the justice department provided congress with classified documents about the targeted killing program. this disclos
the confirmation hearings of cia director nominee john brennan got off to a rocky start today. human rights protesters from the activist group code pink interrupted the hearings before they even started. john brennan is the architect of the obama administration's drone warfare program, which includes targeted killings. once the hearing got under way, there was another disruption. the protester was escorted out. then there was another. same thing. seconds later there was another. and then...
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you know, the cia tried many times to kill fidel castro. it was just unsuccessful at it. >> well that's -- >> i'm a realist. >> kill him, i'm not sure. but i can't deny it. i know they tried to defoliate him with his beard. i know they tried to give him hallucinogens. >> the poison cigar i think was meant to kill him, but the point being that i don't want any single individual, and, you know, i'm a supporter of president obama's, but i don't want any single individual, not george w. bush, not barack obama, to have the authority to say we're going to kill these people. and nor do i want it to be obama and a group of people over whom he has authority. i don't want it to be people in the military who answer to him. i want it to be people of an outside branch of government who feel the independence to disagree with the president. >> well said. i think yesterday john brennan was grilled about various aspects of this program, including the rights of americans who might be on the kill list. take a look at how he answered a question on that from se
you know, the cia tried many times to kill fidel castro. it was just unsuccessful at it. >> well that's -- >> i'm a realist. >> kill him, i'm not sure. but i can't deny it. i know they tried to defoliate him with his beard. i know they tried to give him hallucinogens. >> the poison cigar i think was meant to kill him, but the point being that i don't want any single individual, and, you know, i'm a supporter of president obama's, but i don't want any single individual,...
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interview on cnn and general mckrystal say -- >> you have been watching the confirmation hearings for cia director nominee john brennan, an explosive day of testimony marked with protests and contentious questioning, a story that will no doubt dominate the headlines for days to come. "hardball" picks things up right now. >>> defending the drones. let's play "hardball." ♪ >>> good evening. i'm michael smerconiummer komer chris matthews. secrets and spies. the man who is at the center of the national debate over the targeted killing of americans overseas has been in the hot seat on capitol hill. among other things john brennan coordinates the kill list and so his confirmation hearing to become head of the cia is drawing an unusual amount of interest and attention. we'll get to what he said and the reaction at the top of the show. >>> also, more and more people on the right are asking, who is karl rove and why should we listen to him anymore? rove wants electable republicans nominated. the tea partiers want their people in. real right wingers and they're trashing rove and establishment rep
interview on cnn and general mckrystal say -- >> you have been watching the confirmation hearings for cia director nominee john brennan, an explosive day of testimony marked with protests and contentious questioning, a story that will no doubt dominate the headlines for days to come. "hardball" picks things up right now. >>> defending the drones. let's play "hardball." ♪ >>> good evening. i'm michael smerconiummer komer chris matthews. secrets and...
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things, john brennan coordinates the kill list, and so his confirmation hearing to become head of the cia is drawing an unusual amount of interest and attention. we'll get to what he said and the reaction at the top of the show. >>> also, more and more people on the right are asking, who is karl rove and why should we listen to him anymore? rove wants electable republicans nominated. the tea partiers want their people in, real right wingers, and they're trashing rove and establishment republicans in the process. >>> plus, you've probably heard that chuck hagel once said the following, quote, the jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here. i'm not an israeli senator. i'm a united states senator. but what you probably haven't heard is the rest of that interview and why some people who know what hagel really said aren't angry with him at all. >>> and why is chris christie talking so much about his weight? maybe because he wants to talk about it on his terms, and why might that be? because perhaps he's running for president. >>> finally, the recently fired dick morris admits he was wron
things, john brennan coordinates the kill list, and so his confirmation hearing to become head of the cia is drawing an unusual amount of interest and attention. we'll get to what he said and the reaction at the top of the show. >>> also, more and more people on the right are asking, who is karl rove and why should we listen to him anymore? rove wants electable republicans nominated. the tea partiers want their people in, real right wingers, and they're trashing rove and establishment...
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and that's why the cia has turned into a paramilitary organization. and i think unwinding that may take some time. >> all right. senator angus king, dr. zbigniew brzezinski, david ignatius, thank you very much. david gregory, thank you as well. >> thanks. >> he's got exclusives on "meet the press" this sunday. >> the two lieutenants here, house and senate, eric cantor and richard durbin talking about the way forward after the state of the union. >> thanks very much, david gregory. good luck with that. >>> when we come back, meteorologist bill karins with the latest on the winter storm bearing down on the northeast. keep it right here on "morning joe." ♪ get ready for a lot more of that new-plane smell. we're building the youngest, most modern fleet among the largest us airlines to ensure that you are more comfortable and connected than ever. we are becoming a new american. a hybrid? most are just no fun to drive. now, here's one that will make you feel alive. meet the five-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max says ha. c-max says wheeee. which is what
and that's why the cia has turned into a paramilitary organization. and i think unwinding that may take some time. >> all right. senator angus king, dr. zbigniew brzezinski, david ignatius, thank you very much. david gregory, thank you as well. >> thanks. >> he's got exclusives on "meet the press" this sunday. >> the two lieutenants here, house and senate, eric cantor and richard durbin talking about the way forward after the state of the union. >> thanks...
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waterboard and detention made their voices heard at yesterday's confirmation hearing for john brennan as cia director. >> they won't even tell congress what country we are killing children in. >> please -- >> senator feinstein. >> if you could please expedite the removal. >> more important than the children of pakistan and yemen? are they more important? do your job! >> the hearing serve as a public discussion of the most controversial counterterrorism policies that began under president george w. bush and, in part, have continued and expanded under president obama. brennan's defense of the secrecy surrounding the administration's most questionable program, targeted assassinations using drone aircraft, was as opaque as the program itself. >> what we need to do is optimize transparency on these issues, but at the same time optimize secrecy and the protection of our national security. i don't think that it's one or the other. it's trying to optimize both of them. >> some senators, including ron widen and angus king, pushed brennan to explain the legal at and justification for assassinating ame
waterboard and detention made their voices heard at yesterday's confirmation hearing for john brennan as cia director. >> they won't even tell congress what country we are killing children in. >> please -- >> senator feinstein. >> if you could please expedite the removal. >> more important than the children of pakistan and yemen? are they more important? do your job! >> the hearing serve as a public discussion of the most controversial counterterrorism...
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if you happen to have a known terrorist on the cia's department watch list in your living room, perhaps you have some issues, too. don't get me wrong. >> no, you don't, harold. did you go to law school? if you're an american, are you telling me if you're an american overseas and you happen to stumble into the wrong zip code, you could be killed because somebody is sitting in the living room of a guy who is a terrorist? >> i've never had one in my living room. >> but you may not know the guy is a terrorist. maybe you know him from the mosque you're going to. maybe you're the only two americans. i don't know how to play this. >> all these questions have to be answered. >> just because you're in the same proximity with a suspected terrorist, who has not been charged with any crimes, then you may be killed. >> call me old-fashioned, i like checks and balances on the executive branch, even during war. >> i agree with you. the senate should ask these questions, i don't disagree with that. >> here's my question. i get the hip poxcracy of it or disconnect previous administrations have received
if you happen to have a known terrorist on the cia's department watch list in your living room, perhaps you have some issues, too. don't get me wrong. >> no, you don't, harold. did you go to law school? if you're an american, are you telling me if you're an american overseas and you happen to stumble into the wrong zip code, you could be killed because somebody is sitting in the living room of a guy who is a terrorist? >> i've never had one in my living room. >> but you may...
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intelligence vet and his nominee for cia director. brennan was up for the same job in 2008, but his ties to coercive interrogation methods used under the bush administration forced him to withdraw his name. now brennan serves as a close adviser to president obama, overseeing one of the most controversial war-related programs. >> the united states is the first nation to regularly conduct strikes using remotely-piloted aircraft in an armed conflict. these targeted strikes against al qaeda terrorists are indeed ethical and just. >> reporter: after a failed attempt to kill bin laden in 1998, the u.s. government took decisive action to protect the homeland. three years later, the first successful predator drone strike killed a top al qaeda commander in afghanistan. and now that program is the white house's primary tool against terror. >> john developed and has overseen our comprehensive counterterrorism strategy, a collaborative effort across the government including intelligence and defense and homeland security and law enforcement agenci
intelligence vet and his nominee for cia director. brennan was up for the same job in 2008, but his ties to coercive interrogation methods used under the bush administration forced him to withdraw his name. now brennan serves as a close adviser to president obama, overseeing one of the most controversial war-related programs. >> the united states is the first nation to regularly conduct strikes using remotely-piloted aircraft in an armed conflict. these targeted strikes against al qaeda...
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his four years in office, the president has made unprecedented use of this weapon, with more than 400 cia strikes against targets in pakistan and yemen. that's eight times as many as under president george w. bush. and now nbc news's michael isikoff has obtained a 16-page justice department memo that makes the legal argument to justify this administration's use of drones to kill terror suspects, including american citizens. the government can order the killing of its own citizens without due process if those citizens are believed to be senior operational leaders of al qaeda or an associated force, even if there is no intel indicating they are involved in an active plot to attack the united states. today attorney general eric holder addressed the issue. >> we only take these kinds of actions when there is an imminent threat, when capture is not feasible, and when we are confident we are doing so in a way that is consistent with federal and international law. >> yet, according to the memo, the government gets to define the word "imminent" in a very broad way. the condition that an operation
his four years in office, the president has made unprecedented use of this weapon, with more than 400 cia strikes against targets in pakistan and yemen. that's eight times as many as under president george w. bush. and now nbc news's michael isikoff has obtained a 16-page justice department memo that makes the legal argument to justify this administration's use of drones to kill terror suspects, including american citizens. the government can order the killing of its own citizens without due...
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>> you know, i think a frustration was built around mostly the cia and the really hostile relationship between congress and the agency over the years and what lawmakers feel is the agency's failure to brief them adequately on a lot of secret operation that is are happening overseas. i think brennan is generally safe. he did perform satisfactory according to a lot of these -- the key democrats an some of the republicans on the panel and will get confirmed. i think that will happen in the next couple of weeks but look for the issue of the drone strikes and whether or not there needs to be more oversight to become a hot issue in the next weeks. >> senator bob menendez, he says this is nonsense, a set-up, if you will. smoke and mirrors by conservative bloggers and such and supporters feel the same way. we heard his first comments an we played on this investigation. >> he's trying to make this all about a smear campaign from a small group of people. but the real problem for bob menendez is there have been reports that have surfaced showing he's taken action it appears on behalf of this mega
>> you know, i think a frustration was built around mostly the cia and the really hostile relationship between congress and the agency over the years and what lawmakers feel is the agency's failure to brief them adequately on a lot of secret operation that is are happening overseas. i think brennan is generally safe. he did perform satisfactory according to a lot of these -- the key democrats an some of the republicans on the panel and will get confirmed. i think that will happen in the...